Virginia’s new governor Abigail Spanberger was sworn into office last weekend. She’s already doing tons of badass things, like removing a bunch of MAGA goons from university boards and ending VA state police’s cooperation with ICE thugs. But I fear that her first weeks in office will be marred by a historic weather event. Every meteorologist from Louisiana to New England is freaking the f–k out about a massive snow-and-ice event which is about to rip through the Southern plains, the South and mid-Atlantic in the coming days.
A major winter storm is expected to affect large parts of the southern and eastern United States later this week, but forecasters said on Tuesday that there were still significant questions over where exactly the potent mix of heavy snow, sleet, freezing rain and ice would hit. The most extreme weather is likely to begin on Thursday with a new surge of arctic air that will push temperatures even lower than they already are.
Much of the central and eastern United States may see temperatures fall as much as 30 degrees below the average for this time of year. The most severe cold is expected in the Upper Midwest, where wind chills — the combined effect of cold air and wind on exposed skin — may fall to around minus 50 degrees.
By Friday, with the frigid air in place, Bob Oravec, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center, said “the main ingredients are there” for a significant winter storm. As the system moves across the South, it will pull moisture-rich air from the Gulf of Mexico. That humid air will collide with the cold air and produce a “large slab” of snow and ice, stretching from the Southern Plains through the Southeast and into the Mid-Atlantic from Friday through the weekend, Mr. Oravec said.
While uncertainty remains around the finer details — which is typical this far in advance — Mr. Oravec said there was strong agreement among the forecast models on the overall setup and impacts of the storm.
“We’re highly confident it’s going to be a really impactful event,” he said. “Typically as we get closer to the event, the finer details do tend to become more certain.”
Every meteorologist is updating their models and forecasts every hour. There’s an agreement that there will basically be a wall of ice/sleet which will most likely cripple North Carolina. Here in Virginia, we’re supposed to get a historic snowfall, possibly up to two feet of snow within 24 hours. Many Southern states in the path of the storm will see widespread power outages. A lot of those states don’t have adequately prepared departments of transportation either – not enough plows, not enough salt, etc. The one nice thing about Virginia is that VDOT is usually pretty good and pretty prepared. Anyway, stay weather-aware, keep checking the forecasts and get all of your shovels, salt, gas and groceries today or tomorrow. And I guess we should all be prepared to lose power for a few days or weeks. We should also be prepared for Trump to not do a damn thing. No federal-emergency declarations, nothing.
PS… Another sign that this storm will be a historic event: Ted Cruz abandoned Texas for the beach.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was spotted earlier today, January 20, 2026, on a plane heading to Laguna Beach as the state of Texas braces for a rare ice threat and arctic cold front. pic.twitter.com/lVTcqP8LR4
— Shea Jordan Smith (@shea_jordan) January 21, 2026
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- KYIV, UKRAINE – FEBRUARY 09, 2024 – House of Representatives member Abigail Spanberger is pictured during a press briefing of the bipartisan delegation of the US Congress, Kyiv, capital of Ukraine US Congress delegation gives press briefing in Kyiv PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxRUS Copyright: xYuliiaxOvsyannikovax,Image: 845219129, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Yuliia Ovsyannikova/Avalon
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- KYIV, UKRAINE – FEBRUARY 09, 2024 – House of Representatives members Jason Crow, French Hill, and Abigail Spanberger L to R are pictured during a press briefing of the bipartisan congressional delegation, Kyiv, capital of Ukraine US Congress delegation gives press briefing in Kyiv PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxRUS Copyright: xYuliiaxOvsyannikovax,Image: 845219312, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Yuliia Ovsyannikova/Avalon
Rats leave their ship and Cruz runs from Texas, animals do have some fascinating instincts.
Most animals don’t pick the stupidest,weakest and most cowardly to lead their packs….Cruz’s grift makes total sense to me. The people that keep falling for the grift and electing greedy, lazy evils like him and yurtle turtle don’t make sense to me. Be careful and do your best to prepare for this storm if you are in the path. The tangerine terror has gutted FEMA. The path seems to be headed straight through the darkest red states without the infrastructure to hand severe cold weather. The death toll from storm could potentially be catastrophic.
While I too shake my head in disbelief at the people who vote for Cruz, let’s remember that TX is gerrymandered into oblivion in favor of Repubs at this point, plus all the voter intimidation at the polls, dirty tricks and needless (and blatantly racist) difficulty that’s created for people to vote in TX. I live in Harris County and have seen it up close and personal. One of my students was just telling me yesterday she’s getting anonymous death threats for having volunteered to be a poll worker in the next voting cycle.
Yeah Ted Cruz has about 1.5 days to get his sorry ass to Cancun before the storm hits and Texas’ power grid goes down, leaving the rest of Texans freezing inside their homes and unable to go anywhere on iced over roads. Just like last ice storm or just like when he was in Greece last summer during the Hill Country floods. Relief, thy name is Jasmine Crockett for senate.
Meanwhile, here in Maricopa County, we will be sunning our way though the week. Words cannot express how much I don’t miss living in Tennessee.
TN is rapidly turning into a police state. I live in a dark red, but fairly rural area. It used to be uncommon to see more than 1 police car in any of the local communities. Now we have a constant police presence and state troopers are congregating en mass to harass brown people and women. It isn’t only ICE here. The Don’t Tread on Me f#ckers that egged this on are total cowards now that they got what they wanted.
Stay safe and stay off the roads
Congrats on the amazing new Virginia governor!! She sounds amazing! I’m gazing mournfully from TN as Madam Spanberger accomplishes amazing sh*t right and left. Gov. Lee is a Trump doormat.
This snowstorm is causing angst. Generally, TN doesn’t get much snow at all, so we don’t have a fleet of salt trucks, plows and other equipment for such weather. Last year we were stunned by a 10 inch snowfall…and we were trapped at home for days. This storm is bigger. 😭
My sister is planning to drive her whole family to a cabin near Pigeon Forge on Friday for a planned cabin vacation. As of now, she’s still planning on going. I think she’s crazy and hope she changes her mind. Or the booking cancels for her.
Ah yes, Pigeon Forge is somewhat flat and the roads are probably better serviced. There’s also plenty of restaurants, etc. (and Dollywood!). If the cabin is more toward Gatlinburg, well, it’s steep and the roads will not be plowed. They also get more snow due to higher elevation. It should ok unless we get 25 inches (which is a possibility).
I’m in NC and we in our part of the state are expecting heavy ice accumulations!! There are no generators to be found but we did this morning ho yo Walmart to stock up on supplies and went to the electronics area and actually found a jackery unit which will at least keep our phones and laptops and maybe a lamp and toaster going. Our daughter ordered a solar panel for it to arrive tomorrow so we can keep that going. We also found another power station to use but once the charge is gone with that one it’s done it is not solar. Hopefully if the power goes out, and I believe it will, they can get it going quickly and it not take weeks.
I’m actually not sure if they’re closer to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg but I can bet their cabin is gonna have some kind of an incline to get to it. And the drive there through the Smoky Mountain park on those mountain roads?!? If they go, I’m gonna be white knuckling it while I wait to hear from them. And if the power goes out and the ice comes in, they’re gonna be freezing! So yeah. Wish y’all safety and good luck @Mrs. Smith and @Susuan Collins. I’m in north GA so we’ll see how it goes. I’m expecting the power to go out and if it doesn’t then great. But I’m expecting it.
New Englander here… eh most times these super hyped storms end up being nothing. Hype away!
NH here. Yeah, hyped up storms oftentimes turn out to be nothing. It’s always good to be prepared for weather emergencies, anyway.
Right now there’s a storm coming through Wednesday night that may give us more snow. This winter has given us more snow and cold compared to the past few.
That’s a little smug. From what I have seen, there is no doubt that this storm is going to be a doozy. I saw an explanation that it isn’t actually a storm; it is two massive weather fronts colliding.
You have the infrastructure and personal readiness tools to be able to take these things as they come. In the South, we do not. You also get more snow than ice. Ice, especially in the amounts being predicted, is a disaster. Tree limbs and whole trees buckle from the weight. It is not uncommon for people to die when they crash into homes. The South is swamped by pine trees and they are particularly bad at handling the weight. Of course, you don’t need a tree to fall to have the powerlines go. The ice alone handles that.
I fully expect to lose power, maybe for days. I do not have a fireplace and because the track is so vast, I fear the power companies aren’t able to effectively disaster plan the way they often do for things like this. If we get anywhere close to what the models are predicting, people are going to die.
As a former New Englander, now living in the deep South, the Northeast or any state that is used to having snow storms have the equipment to deal with it, strucutres generally built with insulation, etc. for the cold. So while snow days are fun — and generally don’t last for days — here in the South we don’t have the snow plows, etc. and buildings are not built for cold, but for heat efficiency (as I look out my floor to almost ceiling windows!). Also, in the Northeast, you generally get snow vs. ice — and as you know, once you hit ice, there is no traction. (If you ski in the Northeast, you know what I mean — or hit the occasional ice patch on the road.)
That all said, yes, generally these storms are hyped up (where I live, large storms that will cause flooding that never happen, and then there are the hurricane spaghetti models) create cynics. But once you have been through a hurricane, you never ever forget to prep or evacuate.
From the south, but when I lived in NY, I used to regularly drive in heavy snow and it was powder and I felt okay. Down here though, it’s ice and hills and scary af. But yeah, I’ll be thrilled if it’s overhyped.
This has me terrified for my parents in SC. My mom is bed bound and my dad is a caregiver and both are past 80! They’re expected to get mostly ice and it’s the WORST. I’m seriously considering flying in tomorrow and helping them ride it out.
I don’t know if this helps or will even hold, but over the last 12 hours, models show the storm shifting several hundred miles north. I’m in NC and would LOVE for this trend to continue!
I’m nervous. Texas didn’t learn anything from the storm in 2021. Nothing has changed here and to top it off, a massive AI plant is being built in west Texas (an area known for very little water, so make that make sense) and it’s already an energy suck. Our grid won’t hold between the storm and that damn thing.
Oh yes we did learn something! Our illustrious Senator Ted Cruz left for Cancun last time we lost power over most of the state, and reports are that he has now been spotted on a plane to the beach again! Then, after the horrible floods and deaths last summer we learned that Trump had gutted FEMA and that no federal help was coming. Our biggest help came from the HEB grocery chain that sent fleets of 18 wheelers loaded with provisions. You are completely correct that our power grid won’t hold. We learned that we are on our own and to prepare as best as we can and to help our neighbors.
I was there for Snowmageddon in DC. Snowed in for 3 days. Now I am down South in really clueless land where people on the community page are calling the weather forecasters idiots. Even though it’s been below freezing at night and 40 during the day. Time to gas up the car and get a generator for when/if the power goes out. Because I’m not playing the weather roulette game.
Advice from the Northeast:
— Buy some foods you don’t need to heat up or cook in case the power goes out (tuna, crackers, almonds, peanut butter, etc.).
— Make sure your flashlights have working batteries.
— Buy at least one battery-powered lamp.
— Ensure that your phone charging banks are fully charged.
— Buy some thermal underwear if you can.
— Make sure you have drinkable water.
Anything else, celebitches? I’m not a prepper; this is all just stuff I do for big storms.